Lancashire

Lancashire is a county in northwest England. Lancaster is the county town, while Preston is the administrative center; the other major settlements include Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Rochdale, Wigan, and Blackpool. In 1974, two-fifths of Lancashire were lost when the county boundaries were redrawn, as Greater Manchester separated from the rest of the county. The county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, and the Irish Sea to the west. In 2016, Lancashire had a population of 1,485,000 people.